Mikkeller 黑 / Black

EBF 08. Black with a brown head. Nose is slightly sour, roasted, espresso and cocoa tones. Mouth is just intense, the best wakeup call my mouth has had at 11.30 am in a long time. Burnt espresso, burning feeling, rich and dark and thick. Not too much alcohol present. Dry mouthfeel, amazing.

Bottle from Ølbutikken. Black as the mortal sin. Thick, whipped cream rusty head. Agressive aroma of burnt sugar, tar, artifical sweetener and extracted fruits. Taste is extremely sweet and roasted. Dark fruit notes, salmiac, burnt malts and the most bitter chocolate ever found. Harsh, resiny bitterness. Full-bodied. Glue-ish texture. Big and not so beautiful.

Bottle courtesy of GMCC2181. Pours a crude oil black with a thin tan head but that does leave decent lacing. Nose is sweet dark fruits and alcohol. Taste is molasses, dark fruits, caramelized brown sugar, roasted malt, powdered cocoa, coffee and booze. Lots going on in this one. Surprisingly sweet – way too sweet for my taste, but that does cut the big ABV somewhat. Medium creamy mouth feel. Big beer for sure. Thanks G-Whizzle my Nizzle.

pours a jet black with a slight purple as it pours into the snifter, has a very small brown head, and some lacing. smell is of lots of alcohol, dark fruits, cocoa, and a touch of coffee. taste is thick, overbearing alcohol, bitter and bakers chocolate, and licorice. overall it is just to much in the face with the alcohol that it gets in the way of any other smells and flavors, aging might help.

Bottle. Pours pitch black color with a thin dense chocolate brown head. Aroma is intense of bourbon, smoke, roasted malt and over ripe fruits. Taste is way over the top. Lots of alcohol, roasted malt, and an odd hop bitterness with a long lasting after taste. This beer is extreme in every way. I don’t think I would want to drink another one.

The Surgeon General’s Warning is not enough!! Appearance: Absorbs light like a black hole; pours like Sarah Palin’s motor oil Aroma: "It’s burning my eyes!"; clears the sinuses better than Afrin. Palate: "it cleared up this cough I’ve had for two years"; Flavor: like when you leave the espresso pot on the burner too long, then forget to add sugar; I timed the finish at 23 minutes, but one taster claimed he could still taste it the next day at work.

Bottle. Pours black as night with a tan head. Aromas of alcohol, licorice, alcohol, coffee, alcohol, and some more alcohol. Flavors are about the same, Some coffee, some licorice, some roasted malts. Mostly though its a hotbed of alcohol. Perhaps some time (years) would do this justice. I honestly cant understand these high ratings? Oh well to each their own, thats the beauty of beer.

Pours pitch black with a caramel colored creamy/frothy head. The name fits. Smells of nice coffee and good roasted malts. There are a good number of dark fruits like plums and raisins intermixed with sherry and chocolate. WOW this brew has a massive "punch" of a flavor. Massive alcohol flavor with some nice sherry, raisin, plum, coffee, chocolate, some nice spice and overly alcoholic. Go figure, 17.5% isn’t always so easy to hide. Lots of bitterness in the end. nice and chewy with a very full body. You can drink 1. Maybe 2 if you are planning on falling over on your face. Just kidding. but a second one of these and you may forget your name or phone number or something. A good beer, once in a while. Thumbs up to Mikkeller!